The Limits of the Human Will

Many of us act as if repentance is a matter of the will. [But] we can't "will" ourselves into change. We can't "will" ourselves ...

Our Preposterous Fantasies

God has made [our] fantasies … so preposterously unrewarding that we are forced to turn to him for help and for mercy. We seek wealth and find ...

God Gives Before We Ask

Max Lucado writes in the “Cure for the Common Life”:

The bank sent me an overdraft notice on the checking account of one of my daughters. I ...

Luxury Cruise Turns Sour

Recently I spoke with a friend named Carol (name changed) who had just returned from a difficult ocean cruise. She works for an organization that was ...

The Jekyll and Hyde Nature of Motherhood

Nancy Ortberg, in her sermon "The Jekyll and Hyde of Motherhood”:

A transformation occurred in me with the birth of my children. I traded in ...

Toxic Assets

The 2009 economic crisis brought an interesting phrase into the headlines: toxic assets. Toxic assets are one of the factors contributing to the trouble ...

Condemned and We Don't Even Know It

Dan Meyer, in his sermon "Why Remember the Passion?":

Years ago I traveled to Ecuador and spent a couple of weeks traveling in the mountains. ...

Prop Illustration for Good Friday Service

Texts: Assorted texts from the Passion accounts of the Gospels and Isaiah 52:13–53:12

Principle: The weight of the sins we have committed and the ...

How One Small Squirrel Is Causing Big Problems in England

Across northern England and Scotland, a do-or-die battle is being waged against an aggressive invader: the American gray squirrel.

Researchers have discovered ...

Evil Needs Two Victories to Triumph

To triumph fully, evil needs two victories, not one. The first victory happens when an evil deed is perpetrated; the second victory, when evil is returned. ...